His white hair was a consequence of an exceptionally harsh phase of the mutation, and is not characteristic to all Witchers. He was subsequently mutated and trained as a Witcher. As a child, his mother abandoned him at Kaer Morhen, the Wolf school's fortress. Geralt of Rivia is the protagonist of The Witcher video games. The first game opens with Geralt suffering from amnesia, so he remembers none of the events that happen during the novels. The Witcher novels by Andrzej Sapkowski are the basis for the universe and characters featured in the games, but chronologically the story told in the books takes place before the events of the first game. Similar to Witchers, most magic users are sterilized by their use of magic. They are immensely powerful magicians and, because of their power, are highly desired as advisors in politics.īoth men and women can wield magic in the fantasy universe, but many of the high profile magic users in The Witcher video games are women. In the world of The Witcher, sorcerers and sorceresses play a big role. It is through the Law of Surprise that Ciri, a key character in The Witcher 3 became bound to Geralt, though it wasn't a very straightforward transaction.

The law states that the savior may request 'that which you already have but do not know.' This can have many different meanings, but most importantly it can mean that an unexpected child becomes bound to the person who invokes the law.īecause Witchers are sterile, they rely on abandoned orphans and the Law of Surprise to grow their ranks, and one instance in particular is especially meaningful. When a person's life is saved, their savior might ask the debt be repaid by The Law of Surprise. The Law of Surprise is an important custom in The Witcher's universe. The school of the Viper is introduced in the games. The novels reference three schools, the Wolf, the Cat and the Griffon. The story of how Witchers were first created is lost to time, but Witcher schools, such as the school of the Wolf where the series' protagonist Geralt trained, were built to facilitate the process of mutating and training new Witchers. A few romanticize their order, while many tolerate them as a necessary evil.

Because Witchers are mutated and considered inhuman, public opinion about them varies. Monsters ran rampant, and Witchers were created as a defense against evil beasts. Witchers became necessary after an event known as the 'Conjunction of the Spheres' introduced monsters to the world. They live much longer than otherwise possible, but are sterilized as part of the mutation. They also have the ability to use Signs, which are basic magic spells. Witchers are for-hire monster hunters who are mutated and trained during childhood to be significantly faster and more resilient than an average human.

Witcher school of the wolf